Two arrested for brutal Daveyton mob killing

Gauteng MEC of Education Panyaza Lesufi and MEC for Community Safety Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane address the Daveyton community on Friday following a vigilante mob attack which claimed the life of an alleged gang member earlier this week. Picture: Lindi Masinga/ANA

Johannesburg - Gauteng police have arrested two people in connection with the gruesome mob killing of a suspected gang member in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni.

The 19-year-old was assaulted, stabbed and shot along Motsha Street on Wednesday evening. The community members had split themselves into groups to hunt for alleged gang members terrorising residents.

''The deceased was on Wednesday 15 August 2018 assaulted, stabbed and shot at outside his house by a group of community members, and he was declared dead on the scene," said police spokeswoman Brigadier Mathapelo Peters. "A weapon linked to this murder has been recovered, while police are on the look-out for the firearm."

Investigators are also searching for community members who assaulted and set alight a second 19-year-old accused of robberies and bullying schoolchildren in the area. He was rescued by the police at Unity Secondary School and was being treated in hospital.

Peters said the two could not be linked to any crimes, and that there was no record of complaints or previous cases opened against the teenagers.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi on Friday visited Unity Secondary School where teaching was disrupted by the community as they dragged the assaulted gang member to the premises to force him to point out another pupil alleged to be gang member.

''We strongly condemn the disruption of schooling and urge the community to remain calm and allow the law to take its course. Schools are centres of teaching and learning, and should be treated as such,'' said Lesufi.